Songwriters Hall of Fame

SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT FOR WRITING: The members of the 2013 class of the Songwriters Hall of Fame—Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Foreigner's Mick Jones and Lou Gramm, Holly Knight, JD Souther and Tony Hatch—were honored last night in New York. Adding to the night’s star power were Elton John and Bernie Taupin, who received the Johnny Mercer Award; Berry Gordy, who earned the Pioneer Award; and Benny Blanco, who got the Hal David Starlight award. The occasion inspired its share of noteworthy comments. Sting, who kicked off the festivities with a performance of “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” called John and Taupin “my two heroes.” Said Sir Elton, “I don’t mean this lightly, but when you get an Ivor Novello award or an American songwriter’s award, it means so much more than a Grammy, because this is where the whole process starts.” Hatch, who wrote ’60s hits like Petula Clark’s “Downtown” and “My Love,” got some laughs when he said he hoped the honor would get him “more royalties in the future. I’m still under those 1966 contracts.” His publishing is owned by UMPG—yes, that UMPG. And 25-year-old wunderkind Blanco, who has co-written chart-toppers for Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars and Ke$ha, said with refreshing candor, “They picked the wrong person. I’m in a room with people I should probably be serving food to.” (6/18a)